2014- The Sequel: England in 2015.

[sussexpob]

Dont get me wrong, Kane is not a bad player at all, but I dont understand the hype. I have heard comparisons to a lot of legends being flung in with his name, and I just dont see that level of quality there. I mean technically, on a pitch doing a little, seeing him coming in at one drop I would back myself to at least produce a wicket chance more times than not. He punishes poor bowling very well, he isnt afraid to play at the ball in the right situation very hard, but having him on the back foot defending Id really fancy it as a bowler.

Technically, I dont think he is water tight. Mentally he seems sometimes to really be up for it, and at other times not.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I'll check later about his ton at Lord's.

Your point about some easy runs in his record is why I didn't join in on the hype until fairly recently, and made the points you make in discussion with other posters (though he had a handy ton in SA even back them). But in the last two years, he has scored runs consistently against anyone. Sadly, he doesn't get to play too many games.

97 of the 132 came from Ali/Stokes/Root and Wood..... so two part-timers, a guy averaging 40 with the ball in a lot of tests, and a bloke on debut. Commentary seems to indicate he edged short of slip to Broad very early on (but Cook took Broad off and let him settle into England's second string)... he was also dropped twice.

Classy knock though. 93 of the deliveries he faced were from Anderson and Broad. He faced 42 off Stokes. Wood especially, and Ali are supposed to be front line bowlers (they took six wickets in the innings). I reckon most innings I've seen involved some luck, at very least edging short of the slips, which can be skilfully done. Fair points though, and NZ had a good start, which he rarely gets the benefit of. The day report on cricinfo mentions Latham being dropped, and Guptill caught off a nb, but not KW being dropped, maybe they were towards the end of the innings?

[bigfluffylemon]

Good posts, Arthur. Boult and Williamson's Lord's performances would have been in my test top 5, had I not chosen to include ODIs. Williamson was immense in the Australia series too - he looks like the absolute real deal, and given his young age I have no doubt he will have overtaken Martin Crowe as New Zealand's best-ever batsman and record holder for just about everything by the end of his career.

Until he scored on those sub-standard batting paradise pitches against Australia, which lots of people plundered runs on, he maintains a very underwhelming average against all major teams (under 40 vs South Africa, India, Pakistan, England)..... Before this he only had a very good average vs Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who he averages 90 odd vs.... and a good series vs Windies. And when he made his 250* vs Sri Lanka, I think Sangakarra matched it pretty easily considering the conditions of the pitch.

I think he has a lot to prove before Williamson has shown anything other than a player keen at taking advantage of sub standard test attacks, or scoring in the most friendly of conditions consistently.

I think that is an accusation that could be levelled against most players in the modern era. And he was clearly pretty raw early in his career, hence is low averages. But he's averaged over 60 with 8 centuries since the start of 2014, and scored hundreds in Australia, England, Sri Lanka, the UAE, and the West Indies as well as at home. He has hundreds against ever team he's played apart from Zimbabwe (and there are not many opportunities there). Ok, the Australian pitches were batsman friendly, but scoring hundreds in Australia, the UAE and England is still a decent achievement for a visiting player.

I was largely basing this on watching him in the Australia-New Zealand series. Yes, poor pitches, but his colleagues (Taylor apart) didn't exploit them. He did, and in my opinion he displayed excellent technique. I think he still has plenty to prove, but I think he will do it. Just my opinion.

[Arthur Crabtree]

England opposition team of the year.

4. Misbah-ul-Haq (c).

352 runs at 58. One hundred and three fifties.

Into his forty-second year, Misbah led the Pakistani batting in the England series. I don't know enough about cricket politics to be sure if Mis deserves his reputation as the messiah, the deliverer of the exiled Pakistan nation from the fixers and the scoundrels who threatened it. But I like the idea. In the 2-0 win against England, Misbah was the designer of the Pakistani's provocative tactic of neutralising the England seamers and saturating the spinners. I'm not sure it worked, apart from Pakistan won the series, but I love a grand theory. Deft, analytical, serene, Misbah was the fulcrum of the Pakistan batting, and his late career deeds touch on the epic.

[Arthur Crabtree]

4. James Taylor, 76 in Sharjah.

I can't think of anyone who has had a comparably pitiful route to the national team. Outscoring his contemporaries for years on the periphery of the national team, but continually flanked by lesser players. Unrated by a number of England coaches, even suffering the ignominy of a leak ridiculing him by his national board in order to discredit another England player; reduced to collateral damage. Overlooked by another England coach in Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, when supposedly on tour for his skill against spin. And how gratifying when he finally got his chance, he looked so competent, so savvy, on a turning wicket. His was an ugly dismissal, but for four hours, he (unlike any of his team mates) played the Pakistani spinners as if born for the part. And he saw England level with Pakistan, with five wickets in the bank, before being undone by one of the quicks.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Best innings against England of the year.

Jason Holder, 103 in Antigua.

Sure, England lacked ingenuity and variety on the last day at the Viv Richards Stadium, but surely no one expected West Indies to hold onto the draw with over three and a half hours to play, and their twenty three year old skipper Jason Holder loping to the crease, playing his fourth Test. West Indies were six down, Holder batting at eight, and the top order had frittered away their resources like lottery millionaires. The contrast was distinct. An elegant batter, Holder dug in to play a mostly defensive innings, before peeling off a range of joyful drives as the close loomed into view. He was assisted in his labour by Denesh Ramdin's three hour stay, and for the last 75 minutes, by Kemar Roach. The watchword of the West Indies in the series was 'belief'. It would be nice to believe that the future of the West Indies was with this likeable man's dedication, rather than the profligacy of the top order.

Best bowling against England of the year.

4. Shoaib Malik, 4-33 & 3-26 in Sharjah.

Shoaib has a Test bowling average of 47.5, but 28.2 against England. OK, he wasn't bowling to May and Cowdrey, but he ended Cook's long vigil in the second innings and took wickets in clusters in both innings, making up for Zulfiqar Babar's rather dull cutting edge, and augmenting the dangerous Yasir Shah. Seven wickets in a Test, in the same series he scored 245 in an innings, is some feat. His accuracy meant he was perilous to attack, his flummoxing of the England skipper who advanced far down the track only to be stumped, was particularly memorable. His flightless turn was a little reminder of England's trials in UAE in 2012.

[Arthur Crabtree]

England's best innings of the year.


4. James Taylor, 76 in Sharjah.

I can't think of anyone who has had a comparably pitiful route to the national team. Outscoring his contemporaries for years on the periphery of the national team, but continually flanked by lesser players. Unrated by a number of England coaches, even suffering the ignominy of a leak ridiculing him by his national board in order to discredit another England player; reduced to collateral damage. Overlooked by another England coach in Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, when supposedly on tour for his skill against spin. And how gratifying when he finally got his chance, he looked so competent, so savvy, on a turning wicket. His was an ugly dismissal, but for four hours, he (unlike any of his team mates) played the Pakistani spinners as if born for the part. And he saw England level with Pakistan, with five wickets in the bank, before being undone by one of the quicks.

Missed the bowling out, I'll go back to it next.

[Arthur Crabtree]

England's best bowling of the year.

4. Ben Stokes, 6-36 at Trent Bridge.

It was another inconsistent year for Stokes as he sought to establish himself back in the team after being dropped against India in 2013, somewhat unluckily. Yet, when he struck, he struck hot and quick, as with this second innings return in Nottingham, his best Test bowling figures. He didn't get his hands on the ball in the first innings, as Australia were bowled out for 60 by Stuart Broad (though he memorably took a screamer at gully). Such is the life of a fourth seamer. He came on early in the second innings as Warner tucked into Finn and Wood, and quickly removed both openers. He went at 1.7 runs per over as he dismissed five of the six Aussie left handers, mostly taken in the cordon, and took 6-20 from wicket to wicket. Again he suffered for dropped chances and a lack of catchers to take the frequent edges prompted by his swing.

[sussexpob]

England's best bowling of the year.

4. Ben Stokes, 6-36 at Trent Bridge.

It was another inconsistent year for Stokes as he sought to establish himself back in the team after being dropped against India in 2013, somewhat unluckily. Yet, when he struck, he struck hot and quick, as with this second innings return in Nottingham, his best Test bowling figures. He didn't get his hands on the ball in the first innings, as Australia were bowled out for 60 by Stuart Broad (though he memorably took a screamer at gully). Such is the life of a fourth seamer. He came on early in the second innings as Warner tucked into Finn and Wood, and quickly removed both openers. He went at 1.7 runs per over as he dismissed five of the six Aussie left handers, mostly taken in the cordon, and took 6-20 from wicket to wicket. Again he suffered for dropped chances and a lack of catchers to take the frequent edges prompted by his swing.

The oasis in the desert

[Arthur Crabtree]

India in 2014.

[Arthur Crabtree]

England opposition team of the year.

5. Jermaine Blackwood.

311 runs at 78. One hundred and a fifty.

A retro, calypso Caribbean batter, who played shots from the first ball, and spilling over with charisma, it was enchanting to briefly see a radiance in West Indies cricket again, when removed from the ceaseless intimidation of defeat. So, well done England. And no one exemplified this more than the 23 year old Blackwood, who celebrated his occasional gifts of luck with a high boundary count, usually batting with the tail. If at times there was a shot too many in tight situations, he always gave himself a start (five of his six innings lasted 90 plus minutes), and well, his panache contrasted nicely with some otherwise dour batting on slow surfaces.

[Arthur Crabtree]

England opposition team of the year.

6. Asad Shafiq.

326 runs at 54. One hundred and two fifties.

Shafiq's role against England was to enforce advantageous positions, which he did with consistency. He's not going to win the Pakistani Sports Personality of the Year, but he's been a bit of a run machine at six (he has eight hundreds in the position). With Younis Khan retiring, now is the time for him to step up the order. He reminds me of another introverted heavy scorer at six, Ian Bell, and he was linked in Abu Dhabi by Bell's drop that Shafiq exploited with a tenacious hundred. He makes a good contrast with Blackwood, batting on similar pitches, but being strong in defence, and scoring relatively few boundaries (and only one six in this series) but never missing out on a run.

[Arthur Crabtree]

So far:
Rogers
Hafeez
Smith
Misbah
Blackwood
Shafiq.

[dan08]

England opposition team of the year.

6. Asad Shafiq.

326 runs at 54. One hundred and two fifties.

Shafiq's role against England was to enforce advantageous positions, which he did with consistency. He's not going to win the Pakistani Sports Personality of the Year, but he's been a bit of a run machine at six (he has eight hundreds in the position). With Younis Khan retiring, now is the time for him to step up the order. He reminds me of another introverted heavy scorer at six, Ian Bell, and he was linked in Abu Dhabi by Bell's drop that Shafiq exploited with a tenacious hundred. He makes a good contrast with Blackwood, batting on similar pitches, but being strong in defence, and scoring relatively few boundaries (and only one six in this series) but never missing out on a run.

Younis isn't retiring anytime soon.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Just ODIs?

I misremembered.

Mis is said to be on the verge. I knew I'd thought about Shafiq moving from six for some reason. Other than Shoaib going, because Azhar will come in for him.